Task Force 141  The Birth
by TheCop
Summary: Based on Canonical and Non-Canonical events in the browser-based multiplayer game Urban Dead. The story follows one man and his group as they fight to survive zombies, murderers, an important death and the subsequent fallout.
1. The Prologue

The year is 2010, and all is not completely right in the United Kingdom. Five years on and a quarantine is still in place in what was once the sleepy small city of Malton. Well, that's what it used to be until an accident at one of the numerous NecroTech facilities caused a huge viral outbreak, turning scores of innocent people into blood-thirsty, flesh-eating lunatics that every referred to as Zombies, because of the similarities to the perceived picture.

But for now, the picture will cut back just a little bit, to the beginning of the story, four years in the past –

_It was strange, flying away while the rest of team stood there and waved me off. He felt kind of hollow, knowing he was leaving the entire team to possibly die within the quarantine while he escaped and was able to start a new life outside of the city. Why couldn't James have sent more than one chopper so he could have evacuated the entire team with him?_

_Well, it wasn't his decision anymore ... he was leaving and he wasn't coming back. "Are you comfortable back there sir?" the pilot asked. He thought about it for a minute before replying that he was fine. "Well, we'll be out of Malton in a about 10 minutes, then we'll have to land outside of the safety zone to quickly refuel" the pilot said, pointing at the approaching border._

_But suddenly, the two men saw several army personnel on the border walls, and several of them were looking at the helicopters way. The Pilot exclaimed "shit!" when he realised one of the men had a rocket launcher trained on the helicopter. Steering hard to the right, he attempted to avoid the army, when it was quite clearly obvious that they wanted to take down the chopper._

_"Hold on and fasten your seatbelt" the pilot yelled, before zigzagging away from danger, but things where not as simple as that. All over the wall, several more men began arming themselves with Rocket Launchers, all ready to blow the chopper out of the sky and kill all inside it. Finally, one of them let off a rocket, which zoomed towards the helicopter._

_Unhooking his belt, the man in the back of the helicopter opened the door and looked at the buildings and ground a long way down. He didn't have any second thoughts and with that, he jumped out of the helicopter into freefall. A few seconds later, the helicopter was hit by the rocket and exploded and began it's forced decent down to the ground where it then crumpled upon impact._


	2. Funeral For A Friend

_Avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, __**Vengeance**__ is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord__  
__The Bible_

The day was pretty much overcast and it threatened to rain quiet early on in the procession, but it managed to hold itself off. Nobody said a word as the coffin was carried along Chetle Park towards the final resting place of the member inside. At the forefront, the leader of the group was like a lone man, his head bowed in silence as his former companion was carried off.

Looking up at the sky, a stray drop landed near John's eye, making it seem like he had a tear, but it wouldn't be far from the truth of how he was feeling. Milley was one of his closest friends, and now, she was lying in an oak cuboid, to be laid to rest in a park that was designated the STARS resting grounds for any members that fell in the line of duty.

A hand fell on John's shoulder as he turned around to look at Dan. His best friend looked just as sad John was feeling, but they were both holding it together to show solid leadership in the face of one of STARS's biggest crisis since STARS Infamy Day when a commander threw a mutiny. But this wasn't the time to look that long back in STARS's Past, for now, they were to look backwards only a slight bit, then look towards the future.

Finally, they reached the park where Milley had stated she wished to be buried, underneath an ailing cherry blossom tree that apparently, she'd tried to climb as a child and failed. It had brought a tear of laughter to John's eyes at the time of hearing, and he was actually the only guy she hadn't tried to surgically castrate for laughing.

When everyone was ready and in place, John gave a few words about how a great friend she'd been to him, and how she'd always managed to make everyone laugh one way or another, usually by threatening Meinstorm with castration … via her hands. However, he then turned sombre and added about how she had been a valuable team-mate and commander on the Board.

Eventually, they lowered the coffin into the ground, and all the Board of Commanders shovelled a ceremonial heap of earth into the hole each, before letting someone do it as a team. As they turned around to walk back to HQ, John remembered the conversation that had set off the chain of events that lead to this tragic day … -

_The drink went down her throat in one go, never ceasing to amaze John how fast Linda could down a shot of vodka, and not even pull a face as it burnt the back of her throat ... hell, maybe it didn't anymore ... it wouldn't surprise him, Scotch did the same for John. "My own brand of Valium, my drug of choice" he called it._

"_God that's better" Linda sighed, still not even half cut, "Right, well here goes Johnny Boy ... I've been speaking to Charlie Squad, and they've been reporting ... really bad sightings ... not as in gory. I fear that someone we faced a long time ago is back, and they want to cause a stir"_

_That got John thinking ... Problem is, STARS has had quite a few enemies who loved to cause a stir, and several of them would love to come back and carry on doing so. "Who are you on about Linda? You know how many problems we've had in the past with people, and they weren't as bad as you make this enemy sound" John lifted the glass to his lips and was taking a drink when Linda's reply came back._

"_It's pH" John almost spat the drink straight out ... but instead started choking as it went the other way. Getting his coughing under control and waving off a few punters who were coming to help, he looked Linda straight in the eye and gasped "Don't tell me you're fucking joking, please" But the eyes reflected the truth. "SHIT!" John yelled, upending a nearby table._

_A year or so ago, someone would have told him to pick it back up, but STARS had made their mark on the bar and it was part of STARS's HQ now, so nobody really complained, especially when the group where keeping it stocked. Pulling his anger and fear back in he looked at Linda again, "How long ago?" Looking into her empty glass she answered him, "About a week or so ... I didn't say sooner because I wanted to be sure that I was correct"_


	3. Of Greater Importance

The glass of Scotch ran down his throat quickly, leaving a slightly searing pain in it, but the feeling soon passed as the feelings got dulled by the alcohol being absorbed into his bloodstream. John noticed the bottle was almost empty and made a mental note to get some more when he could … it was his only vice, and at the minute, one of the only things keeping him sane.

How had he got in, how had he breached their perimeter? According to Andrew, that was supposed to be damn near impossible, but John supposed that nothing couldn't be bypassed … things always had a flaw cause nothing was perfect in its life-cycle. He'd had Andy taking a look at it since Milley's death, but so far, had come to report nothing was amiss, though he was sorting though gigabytes of data at a snails pace (Wading through an ocean of shit as he so eloquently put it).

But that wasn't of any consequence to John at the moment, for more pressing matters were budging their way into his brain. Haliman hadn't replied to his latest e-mail, asking him if he could get the word out to people that pH was back, and they were going to cause mayhem. The only person who did answer was one of John's rapidly likable allies, Delta. Their first meeting hadn't gone down well, thanks to Andy, but John had grown to like him.

_Andy stood there, eyes the two Latin Americans from head to toe, "Who's the Hispanics?" he announced loudly, in front of not only Alvaromesa and Delta, but in front of Milley and John himself. John was about to rebuke him, when Delta asked Alvaromesa "¿Quién cresta es este bastardo?" John hadn't understood a word, until the last one, which he knew had to be bastard. "Excuse me; what the fuck did you just call me?" Andy said, squaring up to Delta. Alvaromesa grabbed Delta's arm, but the guy shook him off, "In your language, I'd of said who the hell is this bastard?"_

_Andy was about to swing when John yelled "Enough!" And everyone looked at him. Milley was still sat at her desk, obviously looking at the situation with the same disdain John was. Here were some potential allies, and Andrew was going to ruin it. "Andy, can you go do that thing I talked to you about earlier?" John asked as politely as possible. "What thing?" Andrew said through gritted teeth, though not taking his off Delta._

"_That fucking thing from earlier, just get the fuck out!" John yelled, taking a step towards Andy. Though not wanting to back down, Andy understood he was now toeing John's very fine line between doing what he's told and getting close to being on the receiving end of a fist. "Fine" He said, before twirling around and storming out the office, a look of contempt on his face._

"_I'm so sorry about that" John said, but Alvaromesa shook his head, "Sorry, but if that's the way a senior officer reacts to us, then we can't accept the alliance … for now. Good luck with your problem"_

The whole experience was still fresh in his mind, but since then, John had been in contact with Delta, who had made an impression on him with his ballsy attitude. He liked the guy, he brought an air of freshness into the room when he walked in and reminded John how far he'd come in the quarantine. Hell, he was only 25 now, but that was nearly 5 years in this god forsaken hell hole.

A soft knock awoke John from his thought and through his alcohol-addled brain, he realised someone wanted to see him. Composing himself, he said "Come in" and with that, a relatively new recruit came in, called Rob. "Erm sir? Dan has asked me to come see if you were alright considering today's events"

John looked at the guy, trying to focus as his eyes wanted not to. "Erm, can you send him in?" Rob nodded and walked out as John stumbled up to try and find his pot of coffee he used for sobering himself up. After 5 minutes, Dan walked in, "Speedy little bugger" John murmured as he still hadn't got his coffee yet. "Yeah well, wanted to make sure you were ok, didn't expect him to come running back saying you wanted to see me"

"I want his head on a stick Dan" John said bluntly. He was no longer in a mood for contemplation or diplomatic solutions. John's bare angry side had emerged and it wanted blood. "Look, I know Andy's a handful, but should we …" Dan started, but John cut him off, "Andy is the least of our worries … Steyr came in here and killed her!"

Dan looked confused, and then recollection occurred within his brain –

"_Stay the fuck back!" Steyr screamed, pointing the gun at John, "I swear to god she will not be the only one I kill tonight if you even think of crossing that line there" and as emphasis, he shot the leg of a nearby member. Every jumped, except John, he looked Steyr dead in the eye, "Put the gun down"_

"_How's about you make me, I mean, lets face it, you can't order me around anymore, I've had enough of taking orders from you lot, you're all pussy-whipped so what's the point eh?" Steyr smirked, before moving a step closer to John, still pointing the gun at John while holding Milley's head tightly. "I won't ask you again Steyr, put that gun down, now" John said, stepping forwards once more._

"_Ok" Steyr said, before putting the trigger to Milley's head and pulling the trigger. John jumped forwards, but Steyr let go and ducked, dropping the gun before running towards a nearby window and jumping out of it. "Don't just stand there, get him!" John yelled before sliding over to Milley to check if she was ok. But he knew as soon as he checked for the pulse … she was dead._


	4. Blood Calls

Rain drizzled down yet again, just another fall. "Anything?" came Dan's voice in John's radio, "Na, nothing, you sure our Intel was right?" John asked back. "No doubt about it John, This is where he was supposed to be hiding, I don't know what to tell you man" Dan said back, disappointment in his voice, "I'll check our sources again, but this is total bullshit man"

Standing up from his point, John radioed in to 2 other men telling them to head back home and that nothing was going to happen, but unfortunately, he said it a little too nastily. He was literally tearing himself apart with guilt, because he believed that what happened was because of him, and unfortunately, he was pulling himself away from his own team.

By the time he got back, the entire group was waiting in the main hall, and Andy was at the front, his hands behind his back. He looked at John and immediately, he saw that something had happened, and whatever it was, it certainly wasn't a good thing. "What's going on Andrew?" but still nobody spoke a word, with all except Andy looking at the floor … as if their heads were bowed.

"I'm sorry John" Andy said, and at first, John assumed that someone else had been killed, but then again, surely he would of head the news. "Well, what's going on?" John asked again, getting impatient as his 2nd in Command refused to answer the question, until he finally did – "The board voted, you're out"

John felt sucker punched, and only just managed to say the words "What?"Andrew stepped forwards, still looking sorrowful, "I said, the board has voted to remove you from the position of Supreme Commander in Chief, I'm sorry John". That was all John could take, and with that, walked briskly out of the room and to his office, were he slammed the door shut.

Sitting behind his desk, he looked at the computer screen that still said nothing. Obviously pH had slipped back under the radar once more and wasn't of any importance to anyone. John guessed that people had been lulled into security once the pH War was over. Feeling anger welling up again, he lashed out, knocking over a picture of him and Chris Hollis.

Chris was the 2nd Commander of STARS, and he led it to the most prosperous times they had, John was willing to admit that. The picture was taken a few weeks before his death, and the handing over of power to Serge –

"_Sir, they're closing in fast, what should I do!" The recruit yelled, the pistol in his hands shaking uncontrollably. John looked at Chris, who was stood calmly against a wall, looking outside the window at the oncoming zombies. They knew the men were there, and they lusted after blood and flesh._

"_Simple, aim down the gun, pull the trigger and kill one of them, doesn't matter which one" Chris said, still looking out the window, "Though the Burt Reynolds wannabe looks like the best target to be honest" the last part was aimed at John, to try and get a laugh at the expense of the recruit._

"_You're insane! Nobody can hit the target from this range, especially when the fucking target is moving!" the recruit screamed, then ducked when John pulled his pistol out and shot out of the window, taking a zombie to the floor as the bullet punctured its leg. "There see, it's possible, we don't care were you hit, just kill one" John said simply._

"_No, you're fucking crazy, I'm not taking this shit" the recruit screamed again, turning the gun this time, to Chris. Suddenly, John's gun was aimed at the recruit, "Stand down and aim that thing out the window" he ordered. But the recruit shook his head, "No, I won't" and with that, he pulled the trigger, sending a bullet into Chris's chest. Simultaneously, a bullet left John's gun as he shot the recruit square in the temple._

"You ok man?" Dan said, pulling John out of his memories. Looking down, the glass had smashed in the frame, shards sprayed all over the floor in the immediate vicinity of the picture. Not answering him, John bent down and picked up the picture, brushing off the glass that was left. The picture was fine luckily.

"John?" Dan said, and this time, John answered him, "Lead them". Dan looked puzzled, "Lead them? What do you mean?" Brushing past him to grab his jacket off a hook on the wall, John repeated what he'd said "I said lead them" and with that, he walked out the office, and out of his old job.


	5. Putting a Team Together

The wind was chilling, but John was far from caring. He'd placed a phone call as he was leaving, and now he was about to follow up on that now. Crossing the suburb border into West Grayside, he met a contact he hadn't counted on, "Follow me, I'll take you to him" Alvaromesa said.

Following the man, he was lead to the Younghusband arms, the main pub in West Grayside thanks to its closeness to Pole Mall. Then, leading him to a table in the corner of the room, he asked him to sit and wait. John did this and waited a good 5 minutes, and was about to leave when he saw Delta walk through the door, with another man behind him.

He was roughly about6 foot, clad in black shirt, black trousers, white jacket with some sort of face mask on, covering the lower part of his face. John wondered how on earth the man could breathe like that, but said nothing. His hair certainly drew attention, spiked up and completely blonde, though thankfully not peroxide blonde, worst colour ever John thought.

"I thought you were going to come alone, you don't need a bodyguard you know" John quipped, as Delta and his companion sat down. "Oh, this guy, don't worry, he's not for my protection, he's here to help you." Delta said, "This is Marshall" Marshall simply nodded his head, before inclining his head to Delta to whisper something, most likely a question.

"So, what's the plan then … is it John?" Marshall said the last bit hesitantly as though he wasn't exactly sure. "Simple, we find a killer and make him pay" John stated as simply as it sounded. "Sounds like a good enough plan for me" Marshall commented, leaning back in the wooden chair.

John was thankful for the help, but that wasn't the only surprise of the night though it would seem, as someone on the table next to them leaned backwards and whispered "You want some extra help?" John turned to look at the man, but he was hiding in more shadow then the table they were sat on offered.

"Who are you? You bring him here too Delta?" but Delta shook his head, "Only Marshall here" Then the man spoke up, "I won't tell you my real name, but you can call me Ghost. Whoever you're hunting, they'll never see me coming that's for sure." John thought for a minute, before offering a hand, "Sounds fair enough, the guy we're looking for is called Steyr"

And with that, he explained who Steyr was and what he had done. All three men sat and listened in silence as the tale was told, and all three of them were shaking their heads at the end of it, "So this guy is a real asshole then eh?" Ghost sighed, taking a deep breath, "I'm definitely in now, lets beat on him, cause it just so happens, I've seen the guy … he hides out in the old Gooch building in … where is it called" But John already knew.


	6. Following Up

The building look abandoned as always, and John was shocked to think of the amount of times he had passed it before and not realised what horrors lay inside, plotting vengeance and downfall against STARS. The Gooch Building was derelict as John slowly pushed open the door, M9 at the ready, with Marshall and Ghost behind him, their own weapons ready to shoot down anyone who took them on.

"What's the plan?" Marshall asked, his accent becoming less harsh to John's ears and more bearable. Ghost looked at John and shrugged, indicating that the plan was purely down to John's thoughts. "How many stories would you say this building is?" John asked Marshall, hoping he was quick with maths. Looking up, Marshall took about 3 seconds before commenting, "I'd say around 2 floors"

John smiled and nodded, the guy was good at noting sarcasm and throwing it back, "Ok, we'll stick together for the both of the floors, but we'll split up and take different rooms, you all tuned in to the correct frequency?" Both men checked their radios and nodded. "Wait up!" A voice shouted and John looked over to find an old familiar face running up to them. Blackzilla hadn't left STARS in favourable circumstances, but things had changed since then.

"I want in" He said as soon as he got next to them. "You sure you want to do this?" John asked, looking at him with nothing but neutrality. "Yeah, Steyr was always a pain in the ass, and I dunno, I guess I sorter owe it to you for some revenge" Zilla shrugged then looked at the building, "He's in this shithole? Figures". John smiled, "Yep, let's go"

Slipping the door open quietly, John poked his M9 through and took a quick survey of the surroundings before motioning the others to join him. "Ghost, follow me, Marshall and Zilla, take down here, move out" John ordered, before locating the stairs and climbing them. The upstairs was tidier then the downstairs, and this surprised John … Steyr wasn't exactly tidy, so someone else must be here.

Keeping their guards up, they took opposite sides of the building – John took the West, Ghost took the East. The first room John entered was empty, aside from crates that had been moved as they weren't as dusty as the rest of the room. The next three rooms were like this, until he came across one room with a locked door. "Shit, wish Jill had taught me lock picking before I'd left" John commented out aloud, before barging the door in.

The room was floral design, with a double ornate bed in one corner, a dressing side table beside it. On one of the walls, was a dressing table with several drawers and a large mirror. The only other thing in the room was a wardrobe. Looking on the table, he found lipstick and other makeup items, and upon inspecting the drawers, found them full of women's underwear. Likewise, when he checked the wardrobe, there were women's clothes inside. "Either Steyr's become the cross dresser from my nightmare, or he's got some sort of woman living here with bad taste" John thought, mentally adding the last bit noting down the floral dresses.

Crossing over to the small bedside table, he opened the drawer and found a small black leather bound book. Flipping open the outer page, he found a small writing, obviously a woman's as John knew Steyr's was pretty much chicken scratch from the reports that were handed to John by him. The words read – _Dear Jane, I hope you find this diary a perfect reminder of our last few years. I hope you find solace in it and continue to write such beautiful things in it. Love S". _

Didn't make much sense, so he carried on reading, but one date grabbed John's attention – _September 18__th__ 2009: It's about time he stood up for himself, I was beginning to think he didn't have a backbone anymore, especially since joining THAT group. I told him he shouldn't of, I told him it was a bad idea, but he waved off my concern, simply saying that he'll be fine and they were good at what they did. Yeah, they were good at treating him like shit and not making him realise his true potential in there as a leader. I blame that 2__nd__ in line … what was his name, oh who cares._

Thinking carefully, John remembered it was about the time he started getting letters of threats. He dismissed them as usual because they weren't the first, nor would they be the last, but this woman, Jane, knew the sender. He carried on reading – _September 25__th__ 2009: He did it! I can't believe he finally did what I've been telling him all these years … Turn on them, make them pay … and he did! He killed that whore who used to lead him … Milley I think he said. I don't think he liked it too much, maybe she wasn't that bad to him and he liked her, who knows. But the best bit was when he told me that he did it in full view of their new commander … that 2__nd__ in command, as Steyr explained, who always kept him down … John Killah. I laughed when he told me that, my how that ignorant person must of felt being so helpless. The best is yet to come no doubt._

John was shocked … The woman knew about him and obviously hated his guts for some reason. As hard as he racked his brains, he couldn't think of anyone. So with that, he read on – _October 1__st__: I had a visitor today, didn't specify where he'd come from, but he assured me that he was on my side with our battle against John and that STARS group. He told me he'd be able to get rid of him, make him vulnerable … make him ours! I quickly accepted, but I wonder if there are strings to these words of promise he made. Who cares I suppose, John will soon fall._

With that, a gun cocked in front of him, "Put my diary down you little piece of filth" the voice commanded in a very authoritarian voice … a mature woman's voice. John was confused when she spoke again, "And get up, drop the gun as well, you won't be needing it". Doing as he was told, he put the diary down, as well as his own gun before standing up and looking at the woman. She must have been about 50, so Steyr might have developed a taste for older women.


	7. Rival Unmasked

"Shift that wardrobe to the left … NOW!" She said the last word very harshly, jabbing the barrel of the gun in John's back. Doing as he was told, he was shocked to find a door behind it, kicking himself for not looking. "Open it and go inside straight away" she commanded yet again, obviously not scared of John at all. "Why are you doing this Jane?" John asked, hoping the use of her name would unnerve her enough. "None of your business yet, move it" Obviously not.

John's eyes visibly widened when he saw the medieval torture rack in front of him, "Shit" was all he could mutter, as Jane pushed him forwards, "You treat him like shit all the time he was under your command, didn't you see he was destined for greatness, he was destined to be your boss!" John was still confused when he saw Steyr waiting for him in the corner. "You bastard!" John yelled, but he was hit in the kidney by the butt of the gun, doubling him over, "Language!"

"So, you into older women now eh?" John said, trying to bait Steyr, but he didn't move, and instead, Jane slapped him across the face with the back of her free hand, "How dare you talk to my son like that!" John couldn't summon any words … Jane was Steyr's mother? This was fucked up on all levels. "You got your mommy to help you plot revenge?" John felt like laughing as the understanding fell upon him. "No, I did this myself, he merely did as he was told, now lay down on that rack!" Jane said, pushing him with the barrel again.

Knowing it would be stupid to act right now, he did as he was told, and while lying down, activated the little emergency beacon that he'd given to each member before entering the building. All he could do was hope that they would get here in time. "Mom?" Steyr said, standing up, making Jane look at him, "I don't want to wait any more, I want my revenge now" Jane shook her head, "Wait a little while son, he will be shown pain before we end his life"

Now Steyr shook his head, "No mom, I want my revenge now, I've waited longer then you, and I think I deserve to decide considering it was me who did most of the dirty work and who had to suffer" Jane turned and walked over to her son before slapping him across the face with the back of her hand, "How dare you speak to me, your goddamn mother like that!" Steyr looked at his mother, holding his face where the hand had connected.

Sensing his only chance, John jumped off the rack and dived out of the room, just as Jane swung round, gun aimed at him, "Don't you even dare move" But John just managed to slam the door shut with his foot, before jumping for the bed and his gun. The door burst open as John swung round on the bed and fired a shot … straight into Steyr's chest. He looked down at the blood stain slowly growing, before falling to the floor.

"My baby!" Jane cried out, dropping the gun and falling to her knees, cradling her dying son's head in her arms. If Steyr hadn't been such an asshole, and if his mother had tried hurting John in the extreme, John might have had sympathy for the picture before him, but his resolve had steeled, and his emotions were under lock and key. "You bastard!" she cried next, reaching for the gun, but as she drew it level with John's torso, John already had his trained at her head.

"I'm sorry" he uttered, before he pulled the trigger. The shockwave of the bullet exiting the chamber resonated in the room as it made its way to its target – Jane Steyr's head. It all happened in slow motion to John; first the bullet penetrated her head, then it exited into the room behind her, lodging in the wall. Blood and tiny fragments of bone and brain flew out of the exit wound as the bullet flew out, and Jane's head flew backwards, her mouth still turned into angered roar.

Then it was over. Suddenly, John's entire mission since Linda's death was over … nothing was left to fight for now. He was no longer part of STARS, his team had disowned him, and he was all alone once again. He hadn't even noticed the others come into the room and the next thing he noticed was Ghost putting his hand on John's shoulder, saying something. "What?" John asked absent mindedly. "I said, come on man, we need to leave, I'm sorry it came down to this" Ghost repeated, before helping John to his feet.

Grabbing the black book he walked out of the room with the men, hoping he'd once again; find his place in the Diary of Jane Steyr.


	8. Finale: Dawning Day

The sunset seemed to be almost mirroring what was happening. Standing on the rooftop of The Wensleydale Building, John looked eastwards as footsteps sounded behind him. Not even moving to turn around, John lifted his chin slightly and said "Hello Delta" Letting out a light laugh; Delta moved to John's side and looked at the sunset with him. "I was told I might find you up here, I don't know why you are though"

John still didn't look at Delta as he spoke to him, "It was here when I reached what was the pinnacle of my career at the time ... I was promoted to 2nd in Command of STARS by Chris Hollis in this very building ... We ended the First PH War in the building ... it holds a lot of memories for me ... some that I won't be letting go of because they are mostly good ... despite what has happened in this city"

Delta nodded his head and sat down at the edge of the building, "So why aren't you staying then? I mean, if this is where you lived most of live, and where you commanded one of the finest groups in southern Malton, why move on?" This time, John finally did look at him, but the eyes were still diluted with years of pain suffered in the City, "Because I've seen too much here ... I need to move on and try to make best of what little time I probably have here"

The reason was pretty solid to Delta's ears and he accepted it. Standing up, he looked John in the eye and started talking, "Well, here's to an enhanced future between our two groups. Your co-operation with us, and vice versa, will no doubt yield positive results for us both. That sounds like something Alvaro would say ... He's kind of like a more military version of you ... he knows how a group works, except he's quite a bit stricter and disciplined"

John managed to hint at a smile at Delta's last words. Then he held out his hand, to which Delta took it and shook it. "Also, Marshall wishes to join, you have a position for him?" Delta added as their hands parted. "Indeed I do, tell him he'll be known as Deputy Commander General Marshall" John said, putting his hand in his pocket and caressing the pendant in his pocket. He felt the familiar pain, but also the good time he and Linda had had as friends.

Delta nodded and said his goodbyes; leaving John alone once more on the rooftop as he went to find Alvaro and get his own group started ... The Grayside Police Department ... Funny really. John had been part of the East Grayside Branch of the Malton Police Department when the City wasn't quarantined. And now he was allied to a group that shared its name slightly ... though that group was a Trans-suburb Group, operating in both East and West Grayside.

However, he wasn't alone for long, as someone else came up behind him ... though this time, it was Dan. "How are you doing John?" he asked as he neared him. Looking at him, he motioned for Dan to stand next to him, "I'm doing better now that my wishes have been fulfilled ... how is STARS?" Dan looked at the ground before answering him, "It won't be the same without you there ... you were pretty much the last thing that remained of the groups past ... it'll just seem a little hollow without you there now explaining the past to us"

John laughed lightly, "I was a Dinosaur there Dan ... I needed to move on eventually, I guess this was just the opportunity I was looking for in the end. Still, I trust you'll be able to lead the group just as capably as me, Serge, Chris and Stephen have ... You're the 5th Commander in Chief now Dan ... Take care of the group and make sure it never falls to external or internal influence ... it needs to live in order for the legacy of men like me and men before us who were once part of STARS".

Dan nodded, and then looked puzzled as John withdrew the pendant from his pocket and put it on his neck. "Are you sure you should do that?" he asked, but John managed another laugh, this more heartily, "To be honest Dan ... I reckon if I didn't, Linda would of busted my balls if she had been here ... I'll miss her" Dan looked almost sheepish now, as though he didn't want to ask the question he was about to ... "Were you and Milley ever ... more than friends?"

John looked at Dan and smiled. He still had the naivety to him that made him just as capable a leader as the rest of them, "No Dan ... we were always friends, never more. Wouldn't have worked out, but the point was, we were close because we had one of the longest professional relationships in the group ... though back then, I was more of her superior then I was when she was promoted. She was always first and foremost a ball buster ... but she was also a drinking buddy that I could talk to ... In fact, it was her I talked to about my reservations of taking over leadership from Serge."

Dan's cheeks gained a redness to them as he realised his silliness, but John clapped him on the shoulder, "Still, the past is the past ... I trust STARS will be co-operating with us when we try to liberate Wray Heights?" Dan stood to attention; retaining a Commanders pose of importance ... he'd learnt well. "Indeed we will John, anything to help ... what's the name again?"

John turned to the sunset once more as it finally went out of view, leaving only a hue of orange and blue behind. His mind wandered to the talks he'd had with Linda shortly before her death, in which they talked about a professional group of Black-Ops ... the name of which she had wanted to call Delta Squad...

"The name ... is Task Force 141"


End file.
